


Tethered

by chicago_ruth



Category: Original Work
Genre: Double Anal Penetration, Fantasy, Feminization, M/M, Power Imbalance, Threesome - M/M/M, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:33:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicago_ruth/pseuds/chicago_ruth
Summary: Prince Ying Shi has spent the last year preparing for his wedding night. He does not expect the emperor to invite a low-class general into their wedding chambers.
Comments: 25
Kudos: 164
Collections: Holly Poly 2019





	Tethered

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tassos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tassos/gifts).



The wedding went by in a blur to Ying Shi. Seven days of festivities to celebrate the union of the Ying and Liu dynasties, seven nights of drinking and merriment and innuendo about the consummation.

Ying Shi was not under any illusions about what the marriage truly represented. He had been promised to the emperor last year, as a reward to his father for helping drive off the barbarians in the east, and as a means of keeping his father compliant. This was not a love match: it was a political match, and he was a pawn as any lesser king’s children were.

But Ying Shi was also not a helpless child. Turned twenty-five just the past month, he was well trained in the art of politics. And in this past year, his mother had taught him the many ways a consort could draw their spouse’s attention, and how to keep it, and how to use that attention for one’s own gain.

The Ying Dynasty would grow in power with this marriage.

Soon, the emperor would come to Ying Shi’s bedroom. Ying Shi’s attendants bathed him and dressed him in the finest of silks. They shaved his face smooth and styled his long hair into an elaborate bun, and finished the look by lining his eyes with kohl and painting his lips in a bright rouge.

He was only one step away from being a concubine. Ying Shi reminded himself that the emperor’s mother had once been a concubine, and she now enjoyed luxuries and power that none would have imagined of one of her station.

Once he was styled, his attendants left, and Ying Shi knelt on the bed and waited.

He waited long enough that he thought his husband must be playing a power game with him. He wasn’t sure if he was glad for the prolonged wait, since it would shorten the wedding night, or if he resented it, because the emperor was toying with him. He didn’t even dread the actual sex; ever since the betrothal, Ying Shi’s mother had forbidden him from sullying himself, and he’d spent a year denying himself lovers while forced to watch his brothers and sisters flirting and disappearing into hidden alcoves with other people.

He hadn’t been a virgin before the betrothal, but his mother was determined to pretend that he was still pure.

It was not his husband who stepped through the door first. Ying Shi tensed when he saw the intruder, a handsome man wearing the distinct robes of the military. He recognized him from his father’s court, a figure that his father often cursed in private.

General Meng Jian.

“What are you doing here?” Ying Shi demanded. He started to get up, but Meng Jian motioned with his hand.

“Stay, Your Highness.”

The order rankled, coming from a man who no longer outranked him. Ying Shi glared at him. “Explain yourself, before I have the guards called. This is the wedding suite. You have no right to be here.”

Meng Jian approached the bed and bent down so they were at eye level. “I have every right to be here. His Imperial Majesty bade me to come here and inspect his new spouse.” He reached out to touch Ying Shi; Ying Shi slapped his hand away.

“Do not presume to touch me, General. I am the royal consort now.” Ying Shi hoped that Meng Jian was lying, but he couldn’t imagine anybody daring to interrupt the wedding night, and he had heard of the close friendship between the emperor and his favored general.

Meng Jian considered him, and then he extended his arms and bowed—not anywhere near low enough for Ying Shi’s station. It was such a clear insult, and still Ying Shi could not risk moving from the bed.

“As you say. Let us await your husband together.” Meng Jian poured himself a cup of baijiu, then sat down on a chair situated only a few feet away from the bed. The location of the chair had baffled Ying Shi when he’d first entered the room, but now he saw it gave the seated person a perfect view of the goings on in the bed.

Ying Shi kept his mouth shut. When in an unfamiliar situation, it was best to stay silent and allow others to give you information. Ying Shi’s mother had drilled that into him. He would not let all her training go to waste.

“I think he’ll like you,” Meng Jian said, “For what it’s worth. He was a bit concerned your father would offer your younger brother. He would have argued against it, of course, but it would have put him in a bad position.”

Ying Shi’s younger brother was much beloved by their father, and was young enough to be brash and unsuited as a royal consort. There was no way they would have offered him. All of his sisters were already wed, and besides, the emperor had specified that he wanted a male consort, not a female one.

“What,” Ying Shi demanded, “do you know of the emperor’s desires?”

Meng Jian’s mouth curled into an amused smile. “Have we truly been so discreet? I would have thought the rumors would have reached you, even in that remote place you call home.”

As Meng Jian spoke, Ying Shi couldn’t help but notice that there was a hint of a rural accent in all of his words. He was not somebody who had grown up speaking the courtly language, and though he attempted it now, it was a poor imitation. Ying Shi stored that information. He knew better than to antagonize the man here and now, but he was sure he could use it against him later.

He would only need to bide his time.

“I am not one for idle gossip,” Ying Shi said, “Especially not in my father’s court.” Then he picked up his fan and snapped it open pointedly.

Meng Jian had the audacity to laugh. “I don’t believe you, but that’s all right. And relax, pretty bird, I hear your husband approaching now.”

 _Pretty bird_? Was that an insult? _Ying_ was written with the character for “eagle”—there was nothing pretty or delicate about eagles. Ying Shi’s family was proud and strong.

But he had no time to respond; he could indeed hear footsteps approaching, and Meng Jian got up to open the door for their most illustrious emperor.

His imperial majesty, the Son of a Thousand Stars, entered the room. Two attendants accompanied him, though they did not follow through the door. They waited, their hands linked and extended in front of them in a bow, until the emperor dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Once they were gone, Meng Jian closed the door.

The emperor smiled at Ying Shi, far kinder than Ying Shi would have expected.

He wasn’t an ugly man. Nobody would have dared to tell him if he was, of course, but he was tall, with well-styled, thick black hair, and a carefully trimmed beard and mustache. His clothes were the same golden color as his wedding robes, although this robe was far lighter. More easily removed, probably.

“Well, Meng Jian? What do you think?” the emperor asked. Ying Shi’s eyes widened at this further insult, of being ignored in favor of a lower ranking man.

Meng Jian came to stand at the emperor’s side. “He is very beautiful. I instructed the attendants to paint his face, and I think they did a lovely job. Look how red his lips are. Look how pale his skin is. Look how dark his lashes.” He placed a hand on the emperor’s arm. “But I think he does not like me. He would not let me touch him, earlier.”

The emperor laughed, and Ying Shi’s stomach sank further.

“Perhaps he was simply unprepared. You did not explain Our desires to him properly,” the emperor chastised, though there was nothing but fondness in his voice. Then the emperor set his gaze on Ying Shi. “We were glad when your father offered you, Ying Shi. You were the most pleasing to Us.”

“His Majesty did not want one of my sisters?” Ying Shi inquired, less out of a desire to know the answer but more to stall for time. He didn’t like not knowing what was going on.

“We already have an heir,” the emperor said, “and We have no desire to create a succession war. Besides, Our Meng Jian does not enjoy the female form, and We could not choose a consort whom he would not appreciate as well.”

“What do General Meng’s desires have to do with anything?” Ying Shi blurt out. “I am wed to His Majesty.”

“He has not heard the rumors, he said.” Meng Jian knocked his shoulder against the emperor’s. “We’re better at being subtle than you thought.”

Not _that_ subtle, Ying Shi thought through gritted teeth. He did not like where this was going.

Because while Ying Shi had, perhaps, not known before, he could read the signs now. The little touches, the intimate language between them. It was clear that Meng Jian was the emperor’s lover, one dear enough to have sway over the emperor’s actions. That meant that Ying Shi had competition.

“We are amused,” the emperor said, and finally he approached the bed. “Dear consort, We shall say it plainly for you. Meng Jian is Our heart of hearts, the person to whom Our red string is tied. We are one soul. If you wish to please Us, you must please Meng Jian as well.”

Internally, Ying Shi cursed. He’d been prepared to serve the emperor, not… not this low-born general, who was probably the son of a pig farmer.

But he was better-trained than to allow any of that to show on his face. He maintained a neutrally blank expression. “Of course, Your Imperial Majesty. I shall do my best.”

The two of them shared a look, and Meng Jian laughed again, apparently ever-amused at Ying Shi’s plight.

“Well, Liu Hai, there you have it. He shall _do his best_.”

Ying Shi couldn’t, however, contain the shock when he heard the emperor’s name spoken out loud. That this low-born, uncouth general should have that privilege—no. He musn't show his anger here. The emperor had made it clear how the two of them ranked in his estimation.

There might be a red string binding the emperor and Meng Jian to each other, but string could be unknotted and retied. It would just have to be done carefully, so the emperor never realized that the connection was severed.

Ying Shi inclined his head. “How shall His Majesty have me? I have been prepared in all ways.”

The emperor seemed to consider this. “We like your face, and wish to see it as We take you. But… what do you desire, Meng Jian?”

Meng Jian gave Ying Shi a considering look. “If you want to see his face, you can sit against the wall. I’ll take him from behind, you from the front. That is, if your husband believes he can take both of us at once.”

Two men at once had never been Ying Shi’s indulgence. He clenched his thighs involuntarily, imagining what it would be like to take two cocks in his hole, and his first thought was to refuse. He knew how to take one cock; he’d never attempted anything larger than that.

But he would not back down here. He would show to the emperor that he was very amenable, and that he could do things his general could not.

He fluttered his fan teasingly. “I believe I can. I ask only that His Imperial Majesty be gentle. I have abstained from all bodily pleasures since the engagement was announced.”

The emperor moaned, leaning against Meng Jian and mouthing at his jaw. That drew a laugh out of Meng Jian, who wrapped an arm around the emperor’s shoulders.

“Our lord enjoys such talk,” Meng Jian said to Ying Shi. “Do your best to convince him you are innocent, though we all know you are not.”

It was a good thing that the emperor wasn’t looking at him directly, or he might have seen how Ying Shi’s eyes narrowed at Meng Jian.

“I am perhaps not a pure lad or maiden,” Ying Shi countered, “but I can assure both of you that it is my first time with two men, especially ones so handsome and refined.”

He used a word for _refined_ that clearly applied only to the emperor. Meng Jian’s eyes widened, and he must have noticed the insult, but instead of angering the man only chuckled again.

“Oh, Liu Hai, we are going to have a lot of fun with this one. Much better than sharing one of your desperate concubines.”

The emperor smiled at him. “Yes. We have been told that he is clever as well as beautiful. We will enjoy him immensely.” He finished that statement by cupping Meng Jian’s face and kissing him thoroughly.

Surely no man should have to watch their spouse kiss another on his wedding night. Ying Shi was not sure where to look; dully, he noted that the two men suited each other immensely. They were of similar height, allowing for easy kissing, and their bodies slotted together with familiarity. There was no awkward attempt to avoid a nose, no doubt about where to place hands.

They were both handsome, too, and under other circumstances Ying Shi might have been able to enjoy the show.

When he wrote to his mother, he should tell her about this. She would know how to deal with stealing a husband’s attention from another lover. Yet he was humiliated, too, and did not want her to know that the emperor had treated him thusly.

In truth, the kiss could not have lasted more than a few seconds. The two men broke apart, and when they did, they turned their attention to Ying Shi. The emperor sat down on the chair that Meng Jian had vacated earlier, and said, “Disrobe Our consort for Us, Meng Jian.”

Ying Shi was too controlled to snap that he could disrobe himself, though he thought it. Clearly the emperor wanted a performance. In that case, Ying Shi would give him a performance worthy of the royal theater.

He fluttered his fan coquettishly and did not set it aside until Meng Jian sat down on the bed next to him. The first touch of Meng Jian’s hand made him shudder in disgust, though thankfully his robes hid his reaction.

“Pretty bird,” Meng Jian said as he caressed Ying Shi’s neck. “Let us see how beautiful you are naked.” His hand traveled lower and untied the sash at Ying Shi’s waist. Ying Shi did his best to smile shyly, as if taken in by the compliment. He made sure to look at the emperor, who stared back with his mouth slightly parted and his hand stroking over his lap.

Ying Shi shrugged the outer garment off his shoulders and stretched his neck to accentuate the bare skin. “Dear General—”

“Call me Meng Jian, pretty bird. Tonight, we are lovers.”

They might be lovers, but they were not friends, they were not close. Ying Shi could not protest, though, as Meng Jian nibbled on the exposed skin of his neck and his hands lifted his under-robes up. Ying Shi kept his eye on the emperor the entire time, and licked is lips when he saw the emperor looking at his face.

“Meng Jian,” Ying Shi said, carefully, and noted that the emperor’s eyes widened and the movement of his hand got more forceful. “Meng Jian. Do not tease me so.”

He felt Meng Jian snort in laughter. “Very well. Lift your arms up, pretty bird, and we shall expose your flesh for your husband.”

Ying Shi complied, though that moment where the robes lifted above his head and he couldn’t see left him with a strange discomfort. The knowledge that there were two sets of eyes on him, while he couldn’t see them and could do nothing to control them, made his breathing grow rapid.

Then he was free of the undergarment, and Meng Jian’s hands settled on his stomach and chest, pulling until Ying Shi was pressed up against Meng Jian, both of them facing the emperor.

“Liu Hai, will you keep watching? Or will you help me remove his pants?” Meng Jian asked. His mouth was directly next to Ying Shi’s ears, and each word sent little puffs of air out, causing Ying Shi to shiver. Meng Jian’s fingers also rubbed and pinched one of his nipples, enough that a slight flush began to build under Ying Shi’s skin.

“Did We not order you to do it?” the emperor said, but there was no reproach in his voice at all, only amusement.

“It bothers me not either way. I only don’t want you to feel left out. He is your consort, after all, and the first cock to breach him should be yours.” Meng Jian undid the string holding up Ying Shi’s pants and slid his hand inside. “His skin is so smooth. You would think he has never worked a single day in his life.”

Of course Ying Shi had never spent extensive amounts of time outdoors, and his skin was pale in comparison to Meng Jian’s sun-darkened and sun-roughed skin. His hands, too, held the callouses of an experienced swordsman. Though Ying Shi had studied the basics of the blade, he himself was not a trained practitioner, and his own hands were free of blemishes.

The callouses had their advantages, though; Ying Shi had to admit that. He liked the sensation of them on the sensitive skin of his lower stomach, and he couldn’t stop a sharp gasp escaping when that hand wrapped its elf—surprisingly gently—around his cock. He wasn’t particularly aroused yet, but Meng Jian rubbed his thumb over the slit and ghosted feather light touches up and down his flesh.

“You tease Us,” the emperor said. “Pull his cock out so We may see it.”

“As you command.” Meng Jian did as ordered, pushing the fabric down and behind Ying Shi’s balls. The air felt strangely cool against his skin, and further stroking had Ying Shi’s cock plumping up.

The emperor was looking at Meng Jian, though, not Ying Shi. A sharp spike of fear struck him; he felt like a doll that they were manipulating, whose feelings were irrelevant.

“More,” Ying Shi said, and rolled his hips to force more contact and to draw the emperor’s attention. It worked, and that settled him enough that he could continue. “Meng Jian, your hand is so skilled!”

“Yes. Our Meng Jian knows how to manipulate a cock almost as well as he does a sword,” the emperor said.

The statement was so ridiculous that it startled a snort out of Ying Shi, and Meng Jian burst out laughing, burying his head in Ying Shi’s neck.

“Should I be insulted?” Meng Jian said when his laughter finally subsided. “I’ll have you know my skills with a cock _far_ exceed my skills with a sword, and you know that nobody can match me on the battlefield.”

He’d lost whatever attempts to mimic the courtly accent, but Ying Shi could only think that it suited Meng Jian better, and he couldn’t imagine that such a joke would have sounded better in the courtly words.

“Then perhaps you should stop talking and prove it,” Ying Shi said, but he kept his words light and even let his hands fall to Meng Jian’s thighs, squeezing encouragingly. It was a bit of a gamble; he was unsure if his own insertion into their banter would be welcome, but he couldn’t stand to be left out.

Thankfully, neither the emperor nor Meng Jiang seemed bothered; indeed, they were more amused than anything, and their smiles widened.

“What a pushy young lad,” Meng Jian said, though he obliged by picking up his page and teasing Ying Shi’s nipple further. “Will you be satisfied with just me? Or is there a secret harlot underneath this innocent façade, who needs two men to satisfy him?”

Ying Shi looked to the emperor for guidance, but found no hint as to what answer he preferred. He was surprised, then, when Meng Jian nipped at his earlobe and whispered quietly, “Say yes. Be innocent about it, but say yes.”

Could Ying Shi trust Meng Jian? But it seemed that Meng Jian would want to please the emperor, so Ying Shi tentatively said, “I—I’m not sure. You are very skilled, Meng Jian, but I’m feeling so... hot. I don’t know. I shouldn’t—”

His performance must have satisfied the emperor, who groaned and rubbed his eyes with one hand. “Very well. We would have been happy to keep watching, but it seems you will need Our assistance with this one, Meng Jian.”

The emperor stood, disrobing on his way to the bed—though he kept his pants on, erection prominently straining against the fabric. Unlike Meng Jian, he did not have the hard muscles of a man who trained; rather, he was soft in the middle, with a paunch of a man who ate and drank well. But he was also taller and broader than Ying Shi, and when he got onto the bed in front of Ying Shi, it left Ying Shi well and truly surrounded by the two men. The emperor set his hands on top of Ying Shi’s on Meng Jian’s thighs.

Ying Shi could do nothing when the emperor leaned over Ying Shi’s shoulder and kissed Meng Jian. The sounds of their mouths smacking echoed loud in his ears, and he could feel their breaths heating the skin on the side of his face. It was uncomfortable, though Meng Jian continued to stroke Ying Shi’s now erect cock, playing with the foreskin and brushing those callouses over the slit.

One particularly skillful stroke made Ying Shi’s eyes flutter closed, and he leaned back harder against Meng Jian’s still-clothed chest. Meanwhile, the emperor’s thumb massaged the skin of Ying Shi’s hands.

It was, actually, a bit nice.

As soon as the two broke apart, though, Ying Shi turned his head and stole a kiss from the emperor for himself. It might have been too brazen; he’d caught the emperor by surprise, but after a moment of tenseness the emperor kissed back.

“You are indeed quite the needy one,” the emperor said. “Meng Jian, come. Let Us not deny him much longer.” He piled a few pillows up and then settled himself on them. He also, finally, removed the rest of his clothes, revealing a thick, veiny cock. It was, surprisingly, smaller than Ying Shi’s own, for which Ying Shi was suddenly grateful. He could feel Meng Jian’s erection against his back, and it felt far more significant. If he was going to take them both at once, he was glad they weren’t both monstrous in size.

“Straddle Liu Hai’s hips, pretty bird,” Meng Jian said. “Put your arms on his shoulders—that’s it. I’ll prepare you.”

Ying Shi turned his ass up as well as he could. The position left him face to face with the emperor, so close that he could see a few stray hairs of his mustache. He also saw that the rouge of his lips had transferred to the emperor, and he reveled in that. Meng Jian’s kisses were far less visible.

The emperor brought a hand up to stroke Ying Shi’s face. “Our Meng Jian is right. What a beautiful bird you are.” His fingers touched Ying Shi’s lips, his nose, his cheeks, and even rubbed at the kohl around his eyes. “They did a fine job painting you. Let your attendants know that We were pleased.”

“Of course. I am—” Ying Shi started, but he broke off at the sudden cold shock on his hole. He looked back sharply and saw Meng Jian pouring oil from a small jar. Under other circumstances, he would have snapped that Meng Jian should have warned him, or warmed the oil up first. As it was, he probably just be grateful that Meng Jian even bothered with the oil. Meng Jian had also disrobed, and as he’d thought, the man was massive in size.

Although Ying Shi had been prepared in advance, he had not known he’d be taking two cocks at once. Even the largest toy he’d used would never compare.

Ying Shi bit down on his lip when Meng Jian inserted his finger, not asking permission at all. Ying Shi turned back to the emperor and kissed him desperately, hoping to distract himself from the intrusion. He was glad when the emperor settled his hands on his hips and kissed back just as thoroughly.

The roughness of the emperor’s beard against his chin was a strange sensation. In the past, Ying Shi had worn a beard himself, in an attempt to look older. But this past year he’d been told to keep his face clean shaven, as per the emperor’s wishes. It was his first time kissing a man while his own face was completely bare.

Bitterly, he thought of how Meng Jian wore a beard. Maybe that was something he could ask for in the future—although with how taken the emperor was with Ying Shi’s face, this could be one of his advantages. He would be the prettiest bird he could be, if it meant he was the sole focus of the emperor’s attention.

He moaned hard when Meng Jian found that spot inside him, sending a flood of heat through his body. Well. It seemed that Meng Jian did know his way around a male body, inside and out.

“More,” he panted against the emperor’s lips. Ying Shi canted his hips back to give Meng Jian better access. No point in not enjoying himself. “I need… I need… something, please…”

“Guide him,” the emperor ordered. “We can’t wait much longer. _He_ can’t wait much longer.” He thrust upwards, his hard cock sliding against the insides of Ying Shi’s thighs, which were slick with spilled oil, all while pulling on Ying Shi’s hips. There would be bruises there in the morning.

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Meng Jian answered. “Relax yourself, pretty bird. It’ll be easier if you do.”

 _I know how to take a cock_ , but Ying Shi kept that thought to himself. He wasn’t even mad when Meng Jian held him steady and helped him lower himself onto the emperor’s cock. He was loose and ready for it, but it was still a lot, after a whole year of denying himself. His moan wasn’t faked.

The emperor nipped at his collar and squeezed the flesh of Ying Shi’s ass. “Good. You are—you are hot, inside. We cannot wait for Meng Jian to join Us.”

Fuck, fuck. Ying Shi had spoken brashly, maybe, when he said he could take them both. The emperor wasn’t even large, and it was still so much. Ying Shi braced himself on the emperor’s shoulders and took a long, shuddering breath. “You’re so big,” he said, his voice wavering. “I’m so full already.”

“And you’ll be even fuller soon enough. You won’t be satisfied with only one cock, We are sure of this,” the emperor said. There was a hint of harshness there, which Ying Shi noted. He was not getting out of this.

Nobody would ever accuse Ying Shi of backing down from a challenge. So he began lifting himself up and dropping down again, little squats that dragged the emperor’s cock along that spot inside him and made the pleasure build. He probably could have come like that, desperately wanted to come like that.

“May I?” Meng Jian asked, rubbing a thumb along the skin where the emperor’s cock entered Ying Shi.

 _Not yet_ , Ying Shi thought, but the emperor said, “Yes!”

There was still another pause before Meng Jian straddled the emperor’s thighs and slotted himself close to Ying Shi. He licked at his ear, and whispered, “Breathe deeply.”

If not for the fact that Meng Jian followed that up by pushing a finger in alongside the emperor’s cock, Ying Shi would have rolled his eyes. But there was no time for annoyance, or even thought, not when all of his being was now narrowed down to the throb in his own cock and the stretch and burn of his hole. He cried out when Meng Jian inserted the second finger, all while the emperor continued to thrust. It was a lot. It was too much.

Meng Jian added more oil. Everything felt slick, sweat and oil and precome mixing and filling the air with a scent that could only be described as _sex_. Ying Shi felt tears build in the corners of his eyes, which the emperor rubbed away with a smile on his face.

And then Meng Jian pushed the head of his cock against Ying Shi’s hole.

Ying Shi did his best to breathe deeply. He could do this.

The emperor moaned heartily, and then Meng Jian pushed in.

The first fingerbreadth felt enormous, larger than what he’d seen earlier. It might as well have been Meng Jian’s entire fist. But as Meng Jian slowly entered, stroking Ying Shi’s cock the entire time, the shock eased. Ying Shi was suddenly extremely grateful for how much oil Meng Jian had used, and the amount of care he’d taken in preparing him.

He didn’t know how long it took for Meng Jian to be seated entirely. It was clear, though, that the emperor was enjoying himself immensely; his eyes rolled upwards and he gripped Ying Shi’s waist painfully tight. Bruises upon bruises, that’s what Ying Shi would see in the morning.

Those were a more permanent form of marking than the rouge on both their lips. Ying Shi idly wondered if the emperor would mind if Ying Shi gave him a similar mark.

It was hard to think, though, with how overwhelmed he was. He could do nothing but hang onto the emperor while the two started moving. He felt like a doll, one that was liable to break if they moved too harshly.

“So good,” Meng Jian said. He held Ying Shi’s chest with one hand and continued to stroke him with the other. “You’re taking us so well, pretty bird.”

“Very…very well,” the emperor answered. “Keep going. Move those hips.”

Move? Ying Shi blinked. He could barely breathe. He didn’t know how he was supposed to move. Thankfully, Meng Jian directed him, and somehow it all felt good. Pleasure buzzed under his skin, from the top of his scalp to his toes. Apparently he’d never had sex quite like this before.

He was almost shocked at how soon the emperor came, heat gushing inside Ying Shi. The emperor’s face was screwed up in pleasure, which Ying Shi thought he should memorize, but his mind was complete mush.

Meng Jian moaned loudly and picked up the pace. “Come on, pretty bird. You can come with us both still inside you,” he said, and his masterful stroking intensified. It felt like Ying Shi’s orgasm was wrung out of him. His seed spilling on the emperor's stomach gave him a muted sense of achievement. It all felt so good, but it was so completely out of his control. And only once his own thighs tightened did Meng Jian come.

The seed of both the emperor and Meng Jian began to drip out where the two cocks had left gaps. It should have embarrassed him, but Ying Shi honestly couldn’t feel much of anything. He was exhausted.

It was a relief when they both pulled out, and even more when neither of them expected him to move. He sort of enjoyed the sensation of a warm cloth being used to wipe him clean.

“Well? Did you enjoy him?” the emperor asked.

“Oh yes,” Meng Jian said. If he said anything else, Ying Shi didn’t hear it before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

When he woke, he was lying between the two of them, the emperor’s hands carefully running through Ying Shi’s hair. He kept his eyes closed and pretended to still be asleep, enjoying the gentle gesture. His entire body was sore, anyway, and he had no interest in moving.

“You’ll have to be careful with him,” Meng Jian murmured softly.

“I know,” the emperor responded. Ying Shi stayed still despite the use of singular “I”. Yet another privilege that Meng Jian got to enjoy. “He’s more than just pretty. He called you _refined_.”

“It was good. I liked it. He’s going be a match for Li Yuan in court.”

“I should have her killed,” the emperor said. “Nobody would miss her.”

“Her entire family would miss her, and so would your son.” Meng Jian then pinched Ying Shi’s thigh, and Ying Shi cried out, startled. “And Ying Shi is awake. Don’t eavesdrop.”

Ying Shi narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t speak secrets you don’t want overheard.”

“It is not a secret that We dislike Li Yuan,” the emperor said. He didn’t seem mad that Ying Shi had been pretending to sleep. “Your father needs Our favor, Ying Shi, as does your mother. If you want to keep Us pleased, you will help Us maneuver the court as We desire. We will reward you and your family with favor. If you displease Us… you are more expendable than Li Yuan, and the Ying family lives very far away from the capital. Understood?”

“Yes. His Majesty has been very clear from the start what he thinks of me,” Ying Shi answered. Lower than Meng Jian, but higher than Li Yuan, the prince’s mother. He could work with this.

He saw some pity in Meng Jian’s eyes, and filed that away for later too. Yes. He could work with all of this. Meng Jian had warned the emperor, but the sympathy and kindness he’d shown Ying Shi would be his own undoing.

Ying Shi would play a pretty bird for the emperor and Meng Jian, and tear apart his enemies in court—and in the bedroom—with words as sharp as an eagle’s beak.


End file.
